Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county in Muscogee County, Georgia. The population of the city is 189,885, making it the third-largest in the state. Fort Benning, the United States Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence and a major employer, is located south of the city in Chattahoochee County. The city may also be best known as the headquarters of Ghostriders Gaming. Columbus also has the longest urban whitewater rafting course in the world constructed on the Chattahoochee River. Demographics See the Muscogee County page for the racial makeup of the city and the county. Theft rate statistics Columbus has the state's sixth-highest rate of Pokemon theft and eighth-highest rate of Pokemon murder. The city reported 144 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 12.59 murders a year. Pokemon See the Muscogee County page for more info. Fun facts * When the Civil War broke out in 1861, the industries of Columbus expanded their production; this became one of the most important centers of industry in the Confederacy. During the war, Columbus ranked second to Richmond in the manufacture of supplies for the Confederate army. The Eagle Manufacturing Company made textiles of various sorts but especially woolens for Confederate uniforms. The Columbus Iron Works manufactured cannons and machinery, Greenwood and Gray made firearms, and Louis and Elias Haimon produced swords and bayonets. Smaller firms provided additional munitions and sundries. As the war turned negative, each faced exponentially growing struggled shortages of raw materials and skilled labor, as well as worsenting financial opportunities. In addition to textiles, the city had an ironworks, a sword factory, and a shipyard for the Confederate Navy. ** Unaware of Lee's surrender to Grant and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Union and Confederates clashed in the Battle of Columbus, Georgia, on Easter Sunday, April 16, 1865, when a Union detachment of two cavalry divisions under Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson attacked the lightly-defended city and burned many of the industrial buildings. John Stith Pemberton, who later developed Coca-Cola in Columbus, was wounded in this battle. Col. Charles Augustus Lafayette Lamar, owner of the last slave ship in America, was also killed here. A historic marker has been erected in Columbus. It notes that this was the site of the "Last Land Battle in the War from 1861 to 1865." * Just north of Columbus in Harris County is the Georgia Superspeedway near Cataula, most famous for hosting the Georgia 500 - NASCAR's season finale every year since 1973. * Columbus is home to Columbus State University, Columbus Technical College and the Georgiabama Battle Academy. * While two dozen cities across the country claim to have originated the Memorial Day holiday, Bellware and Gardiner firmly establish that the holiday began in Columbus. In The Genesis of the Memorial Day Holiday in America, they show that the Columbus Ladies Memorial Association's call to observe a day annually to decorate soldiers’ graves inaugurated a movement first in the south and then in the north to honor the soldiers who died during the Civil War. * In upcoming years, the city predicts that an additional 30,000 soldiers will be trained annually at Fort Benning due to base realignment and closure of other facilities. As a result of this, Columbus is expected to see a major population increase. * Golden Park in Columbus hosted the 1996 Olympic softball competition. * Municipal projects as part of a significant period of urban renewal and revitalization in the mid to late 1990s include construction of the Chattahoochee RiverWalk; construction of the National Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus, construction of the Coca-Cola Space Science Center, the expansion of the Columbus Museum, and road improvements to include a new downtown bridge crossing the Chattahoochee River to Phenix City. During the late 1990s, commercial activity expanded north of downtown along the I-185 corridor. * Columbus is one of Georgia's three Fall Line Cities, along with Augusta and Macon. The Fall Line is where the hilly lands of the Piedmont plateau meet the flat terrain of the coastal plain. As such, Columbus has a varied landscape of rolling hills on the north side and flat plains on the south. The fall line causes rivers in the area to decline rapidly towards sea level. Textile mills were established here in the 19th and early 20th centuries to take advantage of the water power from the falls. * Founded in 1953, the Columbus Museum (accredited by the American Alliance of Museums) contains artifacts of regional history as well as works of American art. It mounts displays from its permanent collection as well as temporary exhibitions. It is the largest art and history museum in the state of Georgia. ** The city is also home to the National Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus, a 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) facility that opened in 1962. It features two original American Civil War military vessels, uniforms, equipment and weapons used by the Union and Confederate navies. ** The Coca-Cola Space Science Center opened in 1996 for the purpose of public education in science, physics, and astronomy. It includes four flight simulators and a planetarium. ** The National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center opened in June 2009; it includes displays related to the history of the Infantry from the founding of the nation to the present. Its IMAX theatre is used to show related films and special productions. * Columbus is served by one major indoor shopping mall, Peachtree Mall, which is anchored by major department stores Dillard's, Macy's, and J.C. Penney. The total retail floor area is 821,000 square feet (76,300 m2). Major strip malls include Columbus Park Crossing, which opened in 2003, and The Landings, which opened in 2005. Columbus is also served by The Shoppes at Bradley Park, a lifestyle center. ** MidTown contains two of the city's early suburban shopping centers (the Village on 13th and St. Elmo), both recently renovated and offering local shops, restaurants, and services. * Columbus has two professional teams - the Columbus Lions of the National Arena League and the Columbus River Dragons of the Federal Hockey League. * Newt Gingrich graduated from Baker High School in Columbus in 1961. * Tim Hudson, Frank Thomas and Wayne Brady were born in Columbus. * Expanding on its industrial base of textile mills, the city has been the home of the headquarters for Aflac, Synovus, TSYS and Carmike Cinemas. * Columbus is served by Columbus Metropolitan Airport. METRA Transit System is the primary provider of mass transportation in Muscogee County, currently operating twelve routes in Columbus. The current public transportation services are operated as a function of the Columbus Consolidated Government under METRA. ** Greyhound Lines also has a bus station in Columbus. * Columbus has no shortage of amenities to offer. It has dollar stores, every big retail, fast food and chain restaurant name you can think of, plenty of hotels/motels, some sports complexes, plenty of contest halls and showcase theaters, plenty of public battle fields, Flat Rock Park, a botanical garden, a country club, some auto parts places and car dealerships, plenty of local restaurants and businesses, electric showers, Solstice Apparel, Nintendo World, Golden Chopsticks, Bibb Hillcrest Golf Course, Mellow Mushroom, Clearview BBQ, Piggly Wiggly, Just Thai, Godwin Creek Golf Course, Save-A-Lot, a few movie theaters, Wild Wing Cafe, El Carrizo Restaurant, Pita Mediterranean Street Food, Jim Bob's Chicken Fingers, Vallarta Mexican, Rose's Caribbean, Chester's Grocery & Barbecue, Country's Barbecue, Midtown Coffee House, Ruth Ann's, The Cannon Brew Pub, The Black Cow, Country's On Broad, and a few other things. Category:Georgia Cities